Here we present stable carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios of collagen extracted from Rangifer, Equus and Bison bone (n = 128) from different stratigraphic levels at the chronologically well-constrained Middle and Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Cottés, France. Samples were taken from five phases of site use (US08, US06, US04 [upper and lower], and US02; ~ 45.8–35.3 ka cal BP) to explore the dietary and spatial palaeoecology of these ungulate species during MIS 3, and the contemporary climate. Temporal trends in δ15N values of all species broadly align with other climatic indicators at the site and the lowest values in US04 correspond to the Heinrich 4 cooling event, reflecting changes in the composition of soil/plant nitrogen at this time. Rangifer collagen is 13C-enriched compared to the other species throughout, consistent with lichen consumption. However, this isotopic niche partitioning between Rangifer and Equus/Bison is most extensive during US04, indicating plasticity in reindeer feeding behaviour, and potentially overall increased lichen biomass during this cooler/more arid phase. Rangifer δ34S values are consistently lower than Equus and Bison, which could be indicative of their more extensive spatial ranges incorporating greater inland areas. Equus and Bison demonstrate a significant decrease in δ34S values through time, which may be linked to contemporary climatic decline.
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Age-at-death estimation methods have faced challenges in their applicability to past populations. This study aims to evaluate the assessment and observer variability of the Suchey-Brooks (SB) and İşcan methods within archaeological contexts. Our sample consisted of 400 individuals from the medieval cemetery of the Dunes Abbey in Koksijde, Belgium. The skeletal remains exhibited good preservation, especially for the İşcan methods, which showed higher sensitivity to preservation conditions. Intra- and inter-observer variation were investigated using Spearman correlation coefficients, Wilcoxon paired ranks test, and Cohen's kappa test. The Spearman coefficient revealed a strong positive correlation, with a moderate to almost excellent kappa coefficient for both intra- and inter-observer error. Overall, the SB method displayed better inter-observer agreement, while the İşcan method presented better intra-observer agreement. Applying these methods to younger individuals resulted in less variability. Certain descriptive phase categories, such as phase III for the SB method and phase 3 and 4 for the İşcan methods, seemed problematic. Only 188 sufficiently preserved individuals could be scored using both the SB and the İşcan methods. They were classified into age groups, and the methods assessment were evaluated using the same statistical approach. The Spearman correlation coefficient indicated consistent age group attribution between the two methods (rho = 0.92), with a moderate to almost excellent agreement (k = 0.45; wk = 0.91). Overall, the two methods mainly differ by only one age group, except for older adults. The SB method tended to assign older age groups compared to İşcan's method, leading to effective overestimation.
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